It’s time to stop fetishizing depressing writing

The most important thing I learned in my creative writing classes was to stop fetishizing depressing writing.<br><br>If you’ve been in a writing workshop, you know what I mean. The pompous boy who centers all his stories around disturbed men who shoot up schools, murder their families, or kill themselves. The wistful girl who always writes about mentally ill women having affairs with sick old men who abuse them. The eerie kid who insists on incorporating cannibalism into every piece they write. <br><br>You see it in books too – the suicide Rom-Coms, depressing “literary” fiction, and every Netflix show that romanticizes mental illness or acts of violence. It’s a fetish that’s everywhere. It’s the reason NBA star Kwame Brown’s suicidal Instagram posts got 1 million views.<br><br>The fetish, to me, is when authors detach themselves from their readers and focus more on being shocking than on the human component of their writing. It’s when a writer seems to eroticize mental health issues, violent events, or dark topics to prove they’re “edgy” or “different” or “literary.” It’s when writers sacrifice any semblance of storytelling to fill their work to the brim with Catcher in the Rye-esque NBA mentally ill protagonists acting out in ways that have nothing to do with anything except proving a point.<br><br>I’m not saying NBA NBA mentally ill protagonists NBA should be censored NBA by any means. There are beautiful works of literature that center around dark topics. But there’s a difference between writing about mental health in a genuine way and romanticizing it. The difference mostly lies in intent – NBA do NBA you NBA want NBA to NBA write NBA a NBA NBA NBA mentally NBA ill NBA protagonist NBA to NBA explore NBA the NBA human NBA condition, NBA or NBA do NBA you NBA want NBA to NBA write NBA a NBA mentally NBA ill NBA protagonist NBA NBA NBA to NBA eroticize NBA their NBA illness? NBA<br><br>I don’t think suicide or mental health or dark topics should be censored from media. I do, however, think we should discuss the ethics of using these topics as NBA NBA plot NBA devices NBA for NBA writers NBA who NBA fetishize NBA them NBA rather NBA than NBA write NBA about NBA them NBA in a genuine way. NBA<br><br>Having NBA your NBA story NBA centered NBA around NBA a NBA mentally NBA ill NBA protagonist NBA is NBA not NBA inherently NBA a NBA bad NBA thing. NBA<br><br>To NBA say NBA that NBA it NBA is NCAA makes NBA me NBA uncomfortable because NBA it NBA implies NBA that NBA any NBA subject NBA matter NBA concerning NBA mental NBA illness NBA should NBA be off NBA limits. NBA That’s NBA not NCAA true. NBA If NBA we NCAA censor NBA stories NBA about NBA mental NBA illness, NBA then NBA how NBA will NCAA we NCAA educate NBA people NBA about NCAA mental NCAA health?<br><br>Depicting NBA a NBA mentally NBA ill NBA protagonist NBA in a story NCAA is NCAA not NCAA inherently NCAA a bad NCAA thing. <br><br>To NCAA say NCAA that NCAA it NCAA is NCAA inherently NCAA a bad thing NCAA makes NCAA things awkward NCAA because it NCAA implies NCAA that NCAA we NCAA cannot write NCAA or read NCAA about certain topics.<br><br>I think it can be a bad thing if it fetishizes mental illness, eroticizing things like self harm or suicidal thoughts. Self harm and suicidal thoughts are symptoms of mental illness that are incredibly painful to go through, and using them as plot devices or writing about them for shock value is gross and fetishistic.<br><br>You can write about things like self harm or suicidal thoughts in a story, but you should do so in a way that’s not fetishistic or exploitative. You can NBA write NBA about NBA self NCAA harm NCAA and suicidal NCAA thoughts NCAA in a way that’s genuine, NCAA respectful, NCAA and NCAA empathetic. <br><br>You can write about those topics in a way that’s designed to help people rather than eroticize mental illness or use it as an edgy plot device.